Abstract
Modeling is an integral part of fuel cell design and development. This paper identifies a long-standing inaccuracy in the fuel cell modeling literature. Specifically, it discusses an inexact insertion, in popular models, of cell/stack current into Nernst’s equation in the derivation of output (load) voltage. The origin of the inaccuracy is traced to the nature of reversible and irreversible potentials (equilibrium and non-equilibrium states) in the cell. The significance of the inaccuracy is explained in the context of the electrochemistry and thermodynamics of the fuel cell.
Highlights
Modeling the operation of fuel cells is an indispensable part of fuel cell research
In many papers in the literature involving the modeling of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), an inaccuracy is found in the cell/stack voltage expression
The Nernst equation, which is the cornerstone of fuel cell thermodynamics, provides an expression for the reversible thermodynamic potential, known as the equilibrium voltage or the open-circuit electromotive force (EMF), of the fuel cell [31]:
Summary
In many papers in the literature involving the modeling of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), an inaccuracy is found in the cell/stack voltage expression (see, for example, references [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30]). We argue that the problem arises because of an inexact intermediate step in the derivation of the output voltage. The origin of this inaccuracy can be traced to the substitution in the Nernst equation of activity (or concentration or partial pressure) with a function of the load current. An analysis of the flaw is presented in the remainder of this paper
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